Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers' first album disappeared without a trace when it was first released in the USA in 1976. It was only when they toured the UK in Spring 1977 supporting Nils Lofgren and then moving on to become a headline act in their own right that they came to people's attention. They were incorrectly seen as being part of the new wave explosion, when actually they were just a very good new band from the USA. They were not angry and were not going to change the world, but they had a few decent songs !
Two songs on the LP, which would later go onto become American classics but without ever being hits in the USA, made the lower fringes of the UK charts. "American Girl" probably initially owes its reputation in the US to being featured in "Silence Of The Lambs" whilst "Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll" was probably associated with the UK new wave invasion of the US. Ironically, the breakthrough hit in the USA was a re-release of the mellow "Breakdown", which failed to chart in the UK.,
The album came in at barely 30 minutes, and at times seemed more like an audition or demo for bigger things, yet still contained two classic songs. I thought there wasn't a bad track on it, but at the time I thought it was all a little bit rushed and with a bit more time or better production good songs could have become killers.
Unusually, looking at the track listing I could just about remember all of them bar "The Wild One, Forever".
"Rockin' Around ( With You )" opens side one with a drum intro and a toe tapping bass before it drifts into something from the 1960s Surf or The Byrds.
"Breakdown" has a slow, jazzy feel, dominated by the keyboards but with a guitar motif. The song has an air of tension to it.
"Hometown Blues" is a jaunty rockabilly number whilst "The Wild One, Forever" is a bit bland, but actually hints at "Free Fallin" !
"Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll" has a Rolling Stones style guitar riff, driving bass, an anthem chorus, and a cliched guitar solo, but it works !
Side two starts with "Strangered In The Night" which reminded me of another song and it took me a while to come up with it, but it sounds a lot like "Stuck In The Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel !
"Fooled Again ( I Don't Like It )" has a slower pace,again with the organ to the fore. The strained vocal hints at "Refugee" from Damn The Torpedoes.
"Mystery Man" is another slow number that has a strong country flavour with a gently strummed guitar and there is also some Hawaiian guitar.
The slow and moody "Luna" comes next with keyboards and drums for the intro but there are lively breaks with strong drumming with the keyboards.
The album closes with "American Girl" which begins with jangly guitars then the booming bass joins in. I love the tentative mid-tempo break before it all comes rushing back in for the big finale.
In summary, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers has stood the test of time, and still sounds like a very good album.
Track Listing :
Side One :
1. Rockin' Around ( With You )
2. Breakdown
3. Hometown Blues
4. The Wild One, Forever
5. Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll
1. Strangered In the Night
2. Fooled Again ( I Don't Like It )
3. Mystery Man
4. Luna
5. American Girl
Released 1976
UK Chart Position : 24
Singles :
Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll ( No 36 - 1977 )
American Girl ( No 40 - 1977 )
Breakdown ( - 1977 )
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